KABBALAH FOR THE MASSES? The Promise & Problems in Mainstreaming Jewish Mysticism December 18-19 (Kislev 28-29) Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel San Diego, California
Tiferet Forum: San Diego, December 18-19, 2006 TIFERET INSTITUTE: A Global Network for Excellence in the Study of Kabbalistic Spirituality For more information, visit www.kabbalahsandiego.com
Kabbalah is reaching the masses like never before. Join a distinguished gathering of scholars and spiritual leaders for a conversation on how Kabbalah is becoming popularized, and what it means for the future of Judaism.
Hear directly from the leaders of the most dynamic and influential movements in the mainstreaming of Kabbalah.
Reflect on the implications of popularizing Kabbalah, together with renowned scholars, historians, and rabbis.*
Learn about the widespread impact of Kabbalah on non-Jews, by groups boldly embracing a universalistic perspective.
Understand how groups once considered fringe are quickly becoming mainstream, and what their plans are for the future.
Join us as we examine the forces driving this phenomenon, its impact on Judaism and Jewish community, and the critical issues before us in the years ahead.
Who Should Attend? Professors, rabbis, educators, communal leaders, historians, sociologists, and everyone interested in participating in this important conversation.
*The Tiferet Fourm is scheduled at the tail-end of the Association for Jewish Studies Annual Meeting, the largest annual international gathering of Jewish Studies scholars. This year's AJS meeting is in San Diego. There is no better venue for beginning a serious conversation on the contemporary phenomenon of "mainstreaming Jewish mysticism." With close to 1000 attendees, the AJS meeting provides a unique opportunity to bring this subject into the discourse of the Jewish community’s intellectuals, educators, communal leaders and press, in a non-denominational and open environment.
Please note that Tiferet Institute is completely independent and not affiliated with the AJS or any organization represented in this forum.
Rabbi Avrohom Shemtov ? (Pending Confirmation) Rabbi Avrohom Shemtov is Chairman of the Executive Committee of Agudas Chasidei Chabad, founded in 1924, the central organization of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Rabbi Shemtov is also the director of Chabad in the Philadelphia area. As a trusted confidante of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he became Chabad’s representative to American presidents as well as major Jewish philanthropists throughout the world. He was one of only two people mentioned in the Rebbe’s will. Since the Rebbe’s passing in 1994, Rabbi Shemtov has become a leading voice in Lubavitch leadership.
Rabbi DovBer Pinson Rabbi DovBer Pinson is a young Chabad scholar, author, and teacher. His books include Inner Rhythms: The Kabbalah of Music (1999) and Toward the Infinite: The Way of Kabbalistic Meditation (2005). Rabbi Pinson, is also founder of the Iyyun Institute that runs an innovative yeshiva in Brooklyn dedicated to “personal, societal and global transformation.”
2. Rabbi Michael Berg The Kabbalah Centre International Rabbi Michael Berg is heir to the Kabbalah Centre dynasty, which aims to make the “wisdom of Kabbalah” available to everyone, “regardless of gender, religion or age.” The reach of the Centre, famous for attracting non-Jewish celebrities from Madonna to Ashton Kutcher, extends far beyond Hollywood; there are over 50 branches worldwide, (incl. major ones in Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, London, and Toronto), a children's education program called “Spirituality for Kids,” a sizable charitable foundation, a full product line, and an extensive publishing arm.
Rabbi Berg was ordained by Rabbi Eliyahu Levi of Jerusalem, but his teachers in Kabbalah were his parents, Centre founders' Rabbi Phillip and Karen Berg, who taught him that “the fate of the world rested on everyone having access to Kabbalah.” Rabbi Berg is the general editor a recently published 22-Volume English translation of the Zohar, with Rabbi Y. Ashlag's "Sulam" Commentary (2003). An online edition is available at www.zohar.com. He is also the author of Becoming Like God (2004), and The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment (2002). Rabbi Berg spearheads www.kabbalah.com, which receives more than 100,000 visitors per week, and manages the Centre’s Student Support, a group of approximately 100 instructors guiding students all over the world by phone. His current focus is on establishing a Kabbalah Teacher Training Program.
3. Rabbi Michael Laitman, Ph.D. Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies (This session features a specially prepared prerecorded presentation from the audio-video archives of Bnei Baruch) Rabbi Michael Laitman is director of Bnei Baruch World Center for Kabbalah Studies and the Ashlag Research Institute in Petach Tikva, Israel. He is the author of many books, including, Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life (2006), Awakening to Kabbalah (2005), Attaining the Worlds Beyond (2002). Bnei Baruch's website, www.kabbalah.info, is a vast resource of free content available in twenty-two languages. The Bnei Baruch E-Newsletter has 28,000 subscribers and the website receives 2.5 million views. Recently, Bnei Baruch launched a Kabbalah Newspaper in Hebrew.
Dr. Laitman received his Ph.D. in philosophy and Kabbalah from the Moscow Institute of Philosophy at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and his MSc in Medical Cybernetics from the St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University. He arrived in Israel in 1974 at the age of 27 and his spiritual search brought him to study under Rabbi Baruch Ashlag, the son of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, author of the "Sulam" commentary on the Zohar. He served as the personal assistant to Rabbi Baruch from 1979 to 1991. Rabbi Laitman presents what he calls a “scientific approach” to spiritual evolvement that is based on Ashlagian Kabbalah.
4. Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi, D.H.L. Aleph: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, known as Reb Zalman, is the Rebbe of the neo-Hasidic Jewish Renewal movement. Reb Zalman founded Aleph: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal (originally called Pnai Or Religious Fellowship) in 1962 and now serves as Aleph’s Rabbinic Chair. Individually, and through Aleph, Reb Zalman has trained and ordained close to 100 mystically oriented rabbis. He is also the author of several books, including Paradigm Shift: From the Jewish Renewal Teachings of Reb Zalman Shachter-Shalomi (1993), Credo of a Modern Kabbalist (2006) and Wrapped in a Holy Flame (2003).
Reb Zalman was ordained as a Chabad Lubavitch rabbi and served as a Chabad emissary, before breaking from the Lubavitch movement in the 1960s. He received an M.A. in the Psychology of Religion from Boston University in 1956 and a Doctor of Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College in 1968. For many years he served as a Professor of Religion at the University of Manitoba, Temple University and, most recently, as the holder of the World Wisdom Chair at Naropa University. Reb Zalman’s respect for the universality of spiritual truths has led him to study and dialogue with Catholic monks, Native American elders, Buddhist teachers, including the Dalai Lama, and Sufi masters.
5. Communal Response: Roundtable Discussion
Rabbi Dr. Arthur Green Rabbi Green, rector of Hebrew College's new non-denominational Rabbinical School, is well- known scholar of Jewish mysticism and prolific author whose has written influential popular works of kabbalistic thought. His most recent books include Ehyeh: A Kabbalah for Tomorrow (2002) and A Guide to the Zohar (2003). Dr. Green has taught at Brandeis University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where he served as both dean and president from 1987 to 1993.
